Funky Mead

5 gallons, spiced honey "wine"

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp. gypsum
• 1/2 tsp. winemaker’s acid blend
• 9 lbs. fresh raw orange blossom honey (best variety)
• 1 lb. clear or light candi sugar (optional)
• Very small quantities of grated bitter orange peel, coriander, ginger (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. yeast nutrient
• 1 pint or more Belgian strong ale yeast slurry (I used a recultured yeast from a bottle of Unibroue’s "Eau Benite")
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming
• Pinch dry champagne yeast

Step by Step:

Bring 3 gal. of water to boil, and add gypsum and acid blend. Add honey and candi sugar; boil 15 min. Skim off the thick foam every few minutes and discard it.  Remove from heat; add orange peel, coriander, and ginger, cool in an ice-water bath. Add 2 gal. of chilled, pre-boiled water to lower the temperature to 70° F or so. Add yeast nutrient.

Cool further, making sure you get the temperature between 60° and 65° F, then pitch the yeast slurry. Seal the fermenter, attach an air lock, and set it in a cool, dark place.

Ferment at 60° to 65° F for six weeks, rack to a carboy, and age 12 weeks. Re-rack to another carboy, age another eight to 10 weeks, then add a little dry champagne yeast (in bulk, not to the bottles, please!), prime with corn sugar, and bottle. This will be a sparkling mead, obviously, effervescent like champagne. Before opening, chill well. Funky, weird, unusual, different, in that order.

Send YOUR favorite recipe to: Recipe Exchange, 5053 Main Street, Suite A, Manchester Center, Vermont 05255 OR e-mail it to: edit@byo.com, Subject: Recipe Submissions. If we publish it, we'll send you a cool BYO gift.